4 Tips For Coming Up With Investor-Worthy Side Hustle Ideas

The best idea in the world isn’t going to get off the ground without money. Thankfully, there’s one financially savvy group that can help you turn your idea into a reality: investors.

In a recent interview I did with angel investors Brad Feld, founder of Foundry Group, and Dr. Sean Wise, the importance of making your side hustle “investor-worthy” came up several times, and it got me thinking: What are the best ways to grab the attention of potential investors? How can you get them to be enthusiastic enough about your big idea to be willing to invest big money?

From our interview and the lessons both Feld and Wise break down in the second edition of their book, Startup Opportunities, here are a few solid tips to ensure your ideas make a great impression.

1. Validation

As Feld was quick to note, seeking validation for your idea before taking it to your potential investors is essential for a successful outcome. As he explains, when looking at a product or service, “I didn’t have to be a daily user of it, but it had to talk to me, it had to be something that made sense to me. It had to be something I wanted to do something with.”

The best way to generate that positive impression is through validation. As Feld also noted, “It’s super easy to have an idea. It’s extremely hard to do something with it. The key is to go from that idea to putting it out in front of a lot of people and getting their feedback and evolving it and starting to come up with what the product is, what the real opportunity you’re trying to build to is, and the type of product and company you want to create.”

Finding your target audience, doing your research, fine-tuning your idea so you can prove that people are willing to pay for what you have to offer is an essential first step to getting investor support.

2. The Internal Locus Of Control

No investor is going to deem your idea worthy of their consideration if you don’t approach your work with what Dr. Wise refers to as the “internal locus of control”—in his words, having an understanding that “[you’re] responsible for [your] future…responsible for [your] success. [You] accept that there are outside factors, but [you] have to get up every day to do the hard work or it won’t get done.”

After you’ve come up with an idea, you need to be willing to put in hard work. This means you’re doing everything in your power to get your idea off the ground—even working on building good credit so you can start funneling money into your side hustle if you don’t get the help of an angel investor.

Investors can tell when you’ve done your due diligence in validating your idea, prototyping a product or service, preparing your pitch, creatively landing your first paying customers—and quite often, this sells them on your concept even more than the idea itself.

3. Get Obsessed

It’s one thing to be passionate about an idea—it’s quite another to be truly obsessed with it. As Feld explained, “The biggest mistake I think that people do…is sit quietly and try to come up with lots of ideas. Instead…let your brain have the ideas, and grab one that’s interesting to you. You shouldn’t spend any of your time working on something you’re not excited about.”

In Feld’s experiences, a founder who was truly obsessed with their idea was far more likely to be a worthwhile investment, because while “it’s easy to fake passion…it’s really hard to fake obsession.” Investors know that someone obsessed with a seemingly “average” idea can generate far better results than someone with a “great” idea who’s just going through the motions. When you’re truly obsessed with your idea, you’ll have a resiliency and persuasiveness that are hard to resist.

4. Build Your Domain And Operational Knowledge

While investors typically look for companies where they can add value and outside knowledge to help would-be entrepreneurs make better decisions, they also expect you to have a solid knowledge base yourself.

As Dr. Wise explained, “I typically look for companies that are strong in domain knowledge—they know their industry—and are strong in operational—they know engineering, they know how to do their code.” While his investment group can provide coaching in business and marketing, a company without strong domain and operational knowledge is almost always doomed to failure.

To make your idea truly investor-worthy, you must first develop a deep understanding of your market, as well as the operational skills necessary to turn your idea into a viable product or service. Then, it's your responsibility to go out and sell your first paying customers. Getting your product done right the first time ensures that investors won’t have to worry about their expertise and finances being wasted on a total flop.

With a group of investors to back you up, you’ll have the money you need to turn your side hustle into a legitimate startup with real potential for growth—no matter what your personal financial situation is like. As you use these tips to leverage investor interest, you’ll be well-positioned to make a mark.

I'm an entrepreneur and writer that grew my last side business to over six-figures in less than one year. Now, I teach over 200,000 monthly readers how to start a profitable blog through podcasts, guides and courses on my b...